Middlesbrough Council is partnering with Shell subsidiary ubitricity to supply, install, and manage up to 160 electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints in 90 locations across the town.
The project, which goes live this January, is the first of its kind to introduce public EV charging at scale in the north-east of England. It is part of a 15-year contract to enable residents without private driveways to charge their cars.
The chargepoints have speeds of up to 5kW and will take as little as two hours to install onto existing bollards and lampposts across Linthorpe, Newport, Ayresome, and Middlesbrough’s university area.
Funding has come from government’s On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS), which supports local authorities to deliver EV charging infrastructure for residents without off-street parking, and Middlesbrough Council will receive a 5% revenue share throughout the lifetime of the deal.
Councillor Peter Gavigan, executive member for environment at Middlesbrough Council, says the initiative will encourage more residents to switch to battery-powered motoring.
“To make sure people in Middlesbrough have the best access to a charging point, most will be installed on residential streets which either have no parking restrictions, or in those areas where resident parking schemes are in place,” he says.
“We aim to tackle climate change head on in Middlesbrough and schemes like this one underline that commitment.”
Toby Butler, chief executive officer at ubitricity, which has a network of over 7,500 public chargepoints, welcomes adding Middlesbrough to its list of council partners across the UK.
“Access to EV charging infrastructure is a vital component in removing the barriers to mass adoption of EVs, and it’s exciting to see towns and cities across the UK working hard to make sure residents and visitors can have convenient access to public chargepoints,” he says.
